A Cold Season is an indie horror that has one toe dipped into the darkly comedic. Written and directed by Christian Jude Grillo (Neighbor, Intruder), this psychological thriller falls neatly into the Christmas sub-genre. Mixing that thriller with elements of a slasher, the film is shown from the viewpoint of an unreliable narrator, and attempts a mid-film rug pull that puts into question everything that has came before.
Starting in medias res, the film opens on Jacob (Andrew Hunsicker - Epidemic, The Listing) being interviewed in what appears to be a police station on the first of January 2027. Asked to provide an explanation for what events led him to be in this situation, the majority of the film then works as a flashback, taking place over several weeks during the Christmas period. During this time, the grumpy loner is carrying on as normal, though that normal includes murder as it seems that he is secretly racking up a small body count. The flashback starts with Jacob looking down on a frozen corpse before kicking snow over it, and in addition, he seems to be carrying another corpse wrapped in a blanket in the back of his truck. All of this without context for what has happened. His motivations may be unclear, but as the days pass and he begins to get more reckless with his choice of victims, it seems that capture for him is certain.
I had the vaguest sense of American Psycho watching this, an ever present feel that what was being shown might not be completely accurate. The audacious actions of the anti-hero protagonist made it feel like there was no way he could have been getting away with things like he was. Jacob is the centre of this thriller, so much so that the film sticks with him the entire 80 minute runtime, everything shown from his perspective, the only cutaways being to sensationalised news reports that are often shown playing while Jacob dozes on his sofa. The character is not a good person, but he wasn't completely unlikeable. Gruff, sullen and a definite loner, he fits the small town snowy locale well, without sticking out as someone different. His interactions with elderly neighbour, Julie (Clair O'Neil - Human Hibachi 2) show his altruistic side, and he even has a half decent relationship with his son. In a film like this you would expect him to be estranged, maybe as a reason for his bitterness, but it is just a large distance that separates them. A lot of the dark humour came from the juxtaposition of light and dark, such as the recurring jovial Christmas ditties that play as Jacob drives around with a body on the back of his truck. The most surreal part of A Cold Season has Jacob hallucinating a shades wearing Santa (also played by Hunsicker), a character who pops up a few times playfully chiding the killer for how sloppy he is becoming with his choice of victims.
There never seemed a decent explanation for why he was killing. A messy breakup lives rent-free in his head, maybe being a catalyst for Jacob's misery, but you are just led to believe that the man is just crazy. To be fair, a big twist at the end of the second act explains away some of this. The third act taking place after the initial police interrogation scene was a big departure in vibe, interesting direction to go in for sure, but it wasn't a smooth fit, feeling different in tone, likely on purpose.
There never seemed a decent explanation for why he was killing. A messy breakup lives rent-free in his head, maybe being a catalyst for Jacob's misery, but you are just led to believe that the man is just crazy. To be fair, a big twist at the end of the second act explains away some of this. The third act taking place after the initial police interrogation scene was a big departure in vibe, interesting direction to go in for sure, but it wasn't a smooth fit, feeling different in tone, likely on purpose.
Not the most action filled movie, there are still a couple of kills that take place on screen, and are suitably Christmas themed. Without many special effects, and with little to no blood shown, visually this was a little tame, but kills did look good, such as one that takes place lit by the flashing lights of a police car. The snow and feel of it being winter (this was literally filmed in freezing temperatures on isolated mountain locations) worked with the story of isolation and grief that Jacob carries with him.
A Cold Season was an enjoyable indie thriller, though one that could have fused its two disparate sections together more neatly. Jacob made for a protagonist who was hard to identify with, always an element of mystery that kept the viewer at a distance from understanding just what makes him tick. With much of the film on his shoulders, Hunsicker does a compelling performance, long scenes of him alone never resulting in the plot stalling, instead this is like a window into Jacob's troubled mind. A Cold Season releases domestically in the US on November 10th 2026 via MVD Entertainment Group.
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